Traditional lattice is used for a wide variety of garden applications including fencing, climbing plant support, fences, trellis, pergolas, and gates. Decorative lattice is also used in furniture, screens, and other architectural decoration.
Lattice pattern may be plain, e.g. a regular system of squares or diamonds, or it may embed pattern.
Most traditional lattice is made from wood, however other materials include ceramic tiles, concrete, steel, and other building materials.
Wood lattice is built using several methods. Traditional lattice, especially patterned lattice, was built from many separate components connected with a hand cut wood joint, typically a mortise and tenon or a bird's mouth joint. A faster method is to dado the pieces, fit together, and then glue or nail the joints to keep them secure. Simple lattice can be built by laying criss-cross pieces of wood and then gluing or stapling them together. While the first method is undeniably the strongest method with the best aesthetic results, it also very time consuming and expensive. The latter two methods are cheaper but require specialized tools, and the result lacks structural integrity and is often less aesthetically pleasing.